Plastic Night
by Tremenvan
Summary: A Relius one-shot about his background, and the events at the end of Chronophantasma. SPOILER ALERT !


**AN :**** This is just a one-shot I'm publishing so you guys can wait 'till the next updates.  
><strong>**It's basically the story of what would've happened if Relius' hadn't been defeated in the end of Chronophantasma (meaning there'll be spoilers for that game) as well as some more background for him. Also, just in case the title wasn't enough of a hint, I got the idea for this wile listening to Relius' theme. Whereas Hazama's theme beautifully expresses his violent insanity, hypocrisy and bloodlust, and while Endless Despair II is perfectly fit for an epic, tragic battle, I found Plastic Night II (AKA Relius' theme in BBCP) to have a much sadder tune to it, with the first part repeating itself with melancholy before turning into a mechanical, twisted tune to express his own evil and madness. Then, there's the piano and violin that acts as a metaphor of his fall into insanity and how far he is from the human he was once, until finally the first theme is repeated again, just to insist on the fact that Relius is already doomed: he's already too far gone to claim his humanity back. _And he knows it._**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy, don't forget to leave a review. I don't own Blazblue or its characters.**

* * *

><p>Relius stood in his laboratory, his daughter Ada at his side.<p>

"So that's what's left of mom, huh..."

His wife, Ignis, was laid on the table before them, covered by only a white blanket as she was now forever gone. And she really wasn't a pretty sight. With a both her pale complexion, almost-bald head and skinny looks, it was obvious that her last moments had been pretty awful.

"Why, dad ? Why did mom fall sick like that ? Why ...?"

Ada began crying. She missed her mother already. She had always been a very kind person, always quiet, waiting for an opportunity to help anyone in need. And now she was gone.

"Also, dad... why didn't you bring Carl along ?"

Relius, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke, his blue eyes still staring at his wife's remains. He never wore his mask inside of thir house, and though he sometimes did in his laboratory for safety measures, he would most surely not do so when facing his wife's corpse.

"He's still too young to see this. Plus, there's a matter I need to discuss with you. It's about the reason your mother died."

Ada turned her head towards her father who was now staring in her eyes, a confused look on her face.

"You must have guessed already that your mother's death wasn't something that was meant to happen so soon. You've always been a clever girl, after all.

Ada simply nodded.

"The reason she died lies in her DNA. She suffered from a genetic disease, which means that both you and Carl will end up suffering from it too."

Ada's eyes widened. Was she doomed to die like her mother ? Was ther really no way for her to escape her fate ?

"That's not all. I've also discovered while studyind your genes that you would not only meet the same fate as your mother, but you willl most likely suffer from it much earlier than your mother did."

"What ?! How early exactly ...?"

"I'd say you have at best one year before your body is nothing but a shadow of whatt it is right now, then six months of dreadful agony."

Ada fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. This was too much to bear for a young woman like her.  
>It wasn't easy for Relius either. The only person he ever loved in a world bound to repeat itself were condemned while he was forced to just live on.<p>

"Father... What about Carl ?"

"He's less affected by the disease than you are, so he still has many years before hee has to feel its effects. He shouldn't make it past 5his fifties, though."

A small smile formed itself on Ada's lips as she continued crying. Even though he'd still die in the end, at least he'd have some years to enjoy before fate's cruel schemes catch up to him.  
>However, as Ada was still sitting on the floor crying, Relius spoke once again.<p>

"There's something you must know Ada. There is no way to save either your or your mother's bodies, but that's hardly an issue, since the ressources I dispose of make it pretty easy to create vessels. Actually... I discovered a way to salvage both your and your mother's souls. To avoid for them to be consumed in the Azure."

"...And what exactly is that way ?"

"It's called Deus Machina: Nirvana."

* * *

><p><em>When the Sector Seven troops brought back Nirvana, Relius knew he had no time to lose. Soon enough, the NOL forces would come and try to get it back, only to be consumed by the Black Beast that would emerge from Ibukido's Cauldron and then smelted into main energy source for the Detonator. That was the name he gave to the copy of Nirvana he had to create to secure his lost wife's soul.<em>

_He only had one night. One night in his house's laboratory to merge Ada's dying body and soul with Nirvana and create the Detonator. Only one night before he had to get back to the Sector Seven's base. He simply put his mask on and walked towards his agonizing daughter who was lying near the empty vessel that Nirvana was.  
>It was high time his night began.<em>

He had alreday spent too much time on Ada, and, though he was only partway through the process, he knew he had no other choice but to start building the Detonator and hope to have enough time to finish Nirvana afterwards.

Sweat was dripping down his mask, and though nothing could shatter his determination, jis hands were shaking from the sheer exhaustion and stress he was feeling. He grabbed his tools, attached them to his arm's mechanical parts, grabbed the materials necessary and turned all the machines he would need on.

It was the most complex thing he had ever done in his life. Something no one else had ever dared to do in the past. He had had no time to make precise calculations, he was just going with flow, acting on instinct. It was as if his wife's soul itself was telling him what to do, which spells to use, which device to incorporate. As if she was guiding him through this night, through the darkness he was in. He had no idea what he was doing, and yet he knew it perfectly. He knew he was condemning hilmself, but he didn't care. He had already sealed his fate long ago, and he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself one more time.

Soon enough, it was finished. The Detonator was completed. His night was over. And yet, he felt like he had been forgeting something.

And then, realization struck him. As he turned to see the table where his daughter once lied, he only saw a completed Nirvana. And yet, he didn't remember to have finished it himself. Not only that, but the finishing touches were rough, too. Then he noticed Carl in a corner of the room, his face stained with tears.

"FATHER ! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU !"

* * *

><p><em>He knew it. As he remembered the events that lead to his family's destruction,, he knew he had been doing the right thing the whole time. After all, it had been for her sake, for the whole world's sake ! Surely it had to have been the right thing. After all, something bad done to fulfill good purposes could only be good in the end... Right ?<em>

_He had done it. He had secured Kushinada's Lynchpin, despite the annoying ninja's unexpected resilience. Of course, he had to thank his son for his plan's success. Without his and Nirvana's help, he would most likely not have had enough time to accomplish his goals. He had left Carl and his assistant Litchi to deal with Valkenhayn, and was now heading towards the Master Unit. Ther was only one obstacle left before he coulkd take over Amaterasu and create a new world, and that was Izanami, the goddess of death herself._

As Relius finally arrived at the Master Unit's location, he was greeted with the sight of the Imperator Izanami and Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi, as well as Ragna the Bloodedge, Noel Vermillion and Jin Kisaragi who were all lying on the floor, either unconscious or dead.

As he approached Izanami and summoned Ignis, the former adressed him in a haughty way:

"I see you have finally decided to show your true colors, puppeteer. Be warned, however, that I had anticipated your betrayal. Of course, I must admit that I was expecting the werewolf to defeat you, but I guess getting your son killed in your stead is part of the things you do on a daily basis. Not that it matters, of course. You will never have the power required to defeat me. Or maybe you have forgotten that I am the embodiment of death ? Did no one ever tell you that death cannot die ?"

Relius answered with a smirk: "Though I might be a bit forgetful sometimes, you are too, Imperator. Or do I need to remind you that, with the Lynchpin at my disposal, Take-Mikazuchi is useless ?"

"Do you really think I need such a weapon to defeat a mere mortal like you ?"

"And who do you think created the vessel you're currently inhabiting ?"

Izanami's expression turned into a slight frown. "And why would I care about something that is no more than a vessel to me ?"

"Precisely because the vessel isn't endangering itself: it's making your original existence vulnerable."

As he said that, Ignis teleported behind the Imperator and grabbed her while she was apparently paralyzed. As Relius walked in her direction, Izanami yelled with all the strength she had left:

"Just what exactly did you do to me, Relius ?!"

"I simply activated a paralysis device I hidden in your body. Not only that, but I've designed it so it would leave your soul vulnerable." As he was getting closer, he smirked once again. "And as you know, I'm quite an expert when it comes to dealing with souls."

With that, he extended his hand his front of her and began chanting a was planning to destroy Izanami's soull from within and, after so much years of studying souls and making sure her vessel would make her vulnerable, even a divine being such as herself could be killed through such means.  
>No, not killed. She wouldn't die. Her soul would crumble upon itself, creating a gaping hole into her very existence until she is consumed into the abyss. And that was the only flaw in Relius's plan:<p>

She wouldn't be killed on the spot. And even though she was already doomed, she would do _anything_ she could to get her revenge on him.

* * *

><p>As soon as Izanami had broken free of Ignis' grip, she started floating in the air and throwing dark energy balls at Relius, all the while yelling in anger. Instead of trying to dodge or counter her attacks, knowing there were far too deadly for one such as him to withstand, he cast a spell on himself and started spinning, which caused the Imperator's attacks to go through him without causing him damage. While Relius was busy avoiding Izanami's attacks, however, Ignis had started trying to slash her multiple times with her razor-sharp claws. This served no purpose, though, as she was already condemned, except maybe delaying her.<p>

Relius ran -or rather, used a speed-increasing spell- towards the Imperator, and started attacking her in cooperation with his Ignis, and the former was having more and more trouble evading them, considering the fact that she was already dying.  
>Relius kept summoning mechanical arms, gears and other potentially harmful items while Ignis struck the Imperator mercilessly. There seemed to be no end to their onslaught: their dance had reached its full potential, and now that the puppeteer's power had reached its paroxysm, there was nothing that could something.<p>

Or so he thought. But as a beast becomes all the more dangerous once it is wounded, an agonizing goddess of death would not go down this easily.

In a last effort at killing Relius, Izanami emitted a schockwave that sent both him and his wife away, then started firing an endless stream of beams and fireballs at him. He trying protecting himself from them, of course. He used spells to transorm his own mechanical arm into some sort of shield, but it failed. He trying dodging, but it failed. He was now coughing blood, he had lost all control aver Ignis, and the Imperator was a few breathes away from her death. And thus, with the last of her strength, she fired a huge bea of dark energy to destroy Relius, before falling to the ground, never to stand again.

However, that particular goal was not fulfilled.

Even though Relius thought he would meet his end here and now, he was still alive. Ignis had teleported herself in front of him so she would protect him.

_"How ...? How could you move on your own ? And why would you protect me ? I forced into slavery while all you asked for was to have your soul freed from its pain, I condemned our children to a life of misery, and yet, you..."_

Relius felt himself slowly drifting into unconsciousness. He knew he had failed. The Master Unit was already going away, and he didn't have enough strength to use it to rebuild the world. His whole life had been a failure. In the end, he had scarified everything he had and yet he had missed his one and only opportunity to escape from the night.

* * *

><p><em>Rachel was standing where Relius' fight had occurred, followed by Valkenhayn who was carrying both Carl and Litchi on his shoulders, as well as Hakumen and Celica. And as Ragna, Jin and Noel were all being healed by Celica, and while Hakumen was making sure Nu-13 wouldn't stab them while they weren't paying attention, she just stood there, watching the wounded puppeteer who was lying on the ground.<em>

_"What a fool." She thought. "In the end, everything you've ever did was wrong, you have committed more mistakes than I could count and you've made almost every wrong choice that was given to you. And yet..." She turned away, watching as Amaterasu was disapperaing in the sky. "...Can you condemn a madman who saved the world while attempting to bring an end to it, knowing that his death might bring even more grief ?"_

_As those last thoughts crossed her mind, she turned her gaze towards Carl, who was still carried by Valkenhayn, and for a moment, she could swear she had seen a single tear rolling down his cheek._


End file.
